Debating OTR vs Local Garbage

I worked for Waste Management for 11 years. Other than "management" its not a bad job now days. Its not as "labor intensive" as it used to be in years prior.
You specifically asked about residential solo & Roll-off.
Generally speaking, the solo residential trucks are now primarily what we called "one arm bandits". They are usually run in the city because with all the electronics associated with them, they don't work well in rural area's. They tend to get dirty, muddy, dusty etc & don't work well. So, they are normally used in a city environment. In those situations, 99% of the time, you never get out of the truck. You sit in the drivers seat (on the right side) & work a joy stick. Once the truck is full, you go to the land fill & work the rear door & tilt the bed ... again, from the drivers seat hydraulically. Again, 99% of the time with a "one arm bandit", there is little reason for you to deal with or handle the garbage itself.
On the other hand if its a two or three man truck, sure, the "hoppers" on the rear of the truck will handle each stop/garbage can by hand & will get stuff spattered/splashed & spilled on them. But again, your question was asked specifically about "solo" operated trucks. The driver, seldom, if ever gets out of the truck... more so if its just a two man truck.... less if its a three man truck. So, the driver, may not come into contact with garbage at any time... especially with a "one arm bandit".
I'll add that most small & medium sized companies do not buy "one arm bandits". Normally, only large companies like Waste Management will buy these.
Some residential (& frontload) trucks have electric or hydraulic latches on the rear door which dumps the garbage, so the driver doesn't have to get out to manually unlatch the door or dump the truck.
Just to be clear, occasionally, there are solo manual, old style residential route trucks. So, one man drives 100 feet, gets out, dumps cans, gets in, drives 100 feet, gets out, dumps cans, drives 100 feet...... all day long.
Residential is deemed the bottom of the barrel at trash companies. Normally, if you do not have any experience in working a garbage truck/route, you will start here. The most turn over is usually in the residential side. Inexperienced drivers bump things, have accidents, long hours, trucks break down, etc, etc.. its just a PITA.
Another thing, companies like WM usually work on contracts stating they will pick up the route on its assigned day or they have to pay the city/county/customer "X" amount of $ per can not picked up. So, if a truck breaks down, you still gotta stay out there until its done... regardless. As well, if someone else on another route breaks down or has a heavy day
(the week after Christmas) when you get through with your route, you may have to go help another driver on another route... again, until its done. Then, maybe help a 3rd driver/route... until its done.
Residential... start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, start, stop... all day long, all week long, all month long, all year long...

Roll-off: Roll-off deals mainly with construction but does deal with grocery stores which is the worst. Food (self contained) compactors are nasty. Otherwise generally speaking, most of what you deal with here is dry, like construction materials. Of course, for example, you will occasionally have a paper mill (or specialty products) like we have here & you will deal with stinky, wet, water soaked cardboard or paper & it stinks & will slosh on you. No way around some products, trash & waste sometimes.
Working roll-off is considered one of the top positions a garbage man can have cause usually, as mentioned above, generally have some travel & only go into the landfill 2 - 6 times a day. Its the least work involved in any of the three main positions. You load a can, drive "X" miles drop, pick up, drive "X" miles. Although some still have to "manually" tarp cans, most now have "auto tarp" systems... when they work. Take care of them & you dont have too much work. Find yourself hand tarping & you'll see just how hard it is on a hot day.
Unlike residential & frontloaders, you have to actually get out of the truck at the landfill to dump & wade the dust, dirt or mud, depending.

Front load is also considered a top position as well, but its a lot more to it as far as work & constantly getting into tight places, stop after stop all day long. Plus, you start at 2:00 in the morning so you can get into places before the business opens. Other places where you can get into without a problem, you deal with after the business opens. LOTS of backing into & out of tight places consistently... backing into & out of ally ways into the busy streets. Its highly accident prone. Its probably the most highly respected job because it takes a good, forward thinking person to do this. If your mind wanders & you cant keep your mind on what your doing, you wont do this long.

Hope this helps.....